Day One of UND football, my top 25 rolls on with Notre Dame

Hey football fans..

*Day one is in the books for the UND football team and you could not ask for a better day to start the 2013 campaign.

Some notes:

*The quarterback race between Detroit Lakes, MN. native Joe Mollberg and Ryan Bartels out of Illinois has only just begun. There is no clear-cut number one and I'm guessing there won't be(at least announced to the media) until you see either #6 or #14 trot onto the field for UND's first drive against Valparaiso.

*Both have their own qualities and I'll dive into that the closer we get to kickoff. It seems that they've built a friendship, which is healthy for the team, and both realize the race is only going to make the team better. Story coming tomorrow on the two on WDAZ/WDAY.

*Sophomore wide receiver Kenny Golladay told me that he was NOT one of the 60-65 players that stayed up here in Grand Forks and worked out with teammates. He went back to Chicago and worked out with a personal trainer and focused on his footwork. Many think KG will have a break out year and watching his stuff from last year, I can see why and he says he's faster than last season. Scary. He made some terrific catches on Saturday and I have a feeling I'll be saying that a lot this fall.

*Tempo seems to be a big thing the coaches are harping on. Getting in the play, hustling to the line,
getting the snap off. UND knows they have the weapons on offense and they're playing to their strengths there.

*My college football top 25 countdown rolls on as we arrive at the number 23 slot: Notre Dame

*Many are projecting Notre Dame to finish just outside the top 10. I’m not buying it. Last year was the typical Brian Kelly third year success. The Irish went undefeated before getting smashed in the National Championship. The “Luck of the Irish” was in full effect last season as Notre Dame snuck out several close games.

*I believe this season, the luck will turn against them. Let’s take a look at the schedule:

Trips to Michigan, Pitt, and Stanford. Home stands against Michigan State, Oklahoma, USC, and BYU. Not to mention a contest with Arizona State in Arlington. Good luck. You could make an early argument of at least five losses on that schedule.

*The defense is stacked, I’ll give the Irish that. Notre Dame caught a bad break with Golson but Tommy Rees brings experience and Kelly has already named him the number one at the QB spot and the starter against Temple in the season opener. Rees must cut down on the turnovers. If he doesn’t, the defense will be put in bad situations like they were two seasons ago when the offense turned the ball over almost 30 times.

*Regular season record: 8-4